Evans Repeating Rifle

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One of the oddest rifles to ever be produced in the United States. Released in 1873 the Evans was invented by Warren Evans. Mr. Evans was a dentist from Thomaston, Maine. It was manufactured by the Evans Rifle Manufacturing Company of Mechanic Falls, Maine and marketed by Merwin & Hulbert. The hope was that the rifle would be picked up by the United States Army, but the rifle failed the standard dust test. It was then offered as a sporting rifle. The rifle had a radial block receiver similar to the Spencer, but the rounds were fed from a Archimedean-screw magazine which formed the spine of the rifle stock and could hold up to thirty-four rounds. The fluted cartridge carrier made a quarter turn each time the lever was operated, feeding a new cartridge into the breech. The company went out of business in 1879. There were several things that the rifle had against it. The round was unique to the rifle and hard to find. As stated earlier the mechanism of the rifle was not very sturdy and did not do well with such things as dust. Not a good thing in the Wyoming Territory in 1875. The rifle was heavy. I have held an actual Evans rifle and in my opinion the ergonomics are poor and the rifle is clumsy when moving. It isn't a natural pointer. Nevertheless the Evans Repeating Rifle has lately become something of a collector's item and prices are going up. Whatever it's faults it's a fascinating part of United States firearms history.

The Evans Repeating Rifle can be seen in the following productions:

Evans Repeating Rifle in carbine configuration with 22 inch barrel.

Evans Repeating Rifle "Sporter" configuration with 26 inch barrel.

A close up look at the Evans Archimedean-screw magazine. It would hold between 28 and 34 of the Evans 44 rimfire round depending on the configuration.